Penne Pasta in Juniper Rosa Sauce

We came in around five o’clock from an hour or so of fun in the back yard so I could make supper. The kids were hungry. I was hungry. The way I saw it, I could either: a) Run out for burgers and fries. Not so appealing, due to the junk food factor, and the fact that we seemed to be falling back on it a lot lately, or b) make sandwiches.

I opted for c) neither of the above.

In the same amount of time it would have taken me to run out and grab supper from A&W, I made this. When Skipper tried it, his verdict was "This is really really great!" Monkey and Superkid had three helpings each.

Needless to say, a hit. Bon appétit!

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Penne* Pasta in Juniper Rosa Sauce

Prep and cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4-6 (Sauce makes double amount required for this much pasta, so you'll have some for another meal.)

1 454 g package Penne Brown Rice Pasta
filtered water
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 28-oz. can whole or diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. dried juniper berries
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
2 tsp. maple syrup (opt.)
1/4 c. snipped fresh basil
1/2 c. whipping cream
freshly-grated parmesan or asiago cheese to serve
Dash of ground nutmeg (opt.)
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Start pasta boiling in filtered water with oil and salt, according to package directions.

Place tomatoes and garlic cloves in a blender or food processor--blend on high speed for a few seconds to roughly chop. Place in medium saucepan on medium-low heat. Add salt, juniper berries and cheddar and stir until cheese is melted. Add maple syrup, basil and whipping cream and heat through. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Drain pasta, rinse with cold water and drain again. Put in large bowl and pour half of sauce overtop; save remainder in a glass jar in the fridge for another dish. Toss pasta and sauce and serve with fresh veggies or salad on the side.

Leftover sauce would go well in a casserole with stir-fried ground beef and onions; top with cheese, cover and heat through in medium oven.

*When I recreated this recipe to photograph it, I was fresh out of penne pasta, so the photos show elbow macaroni instead.

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Juniper Rosé Sauce from www.talenawinters.com.